Paris Metro tickets - how does it work these days?

[PuppyMonkey]

Pretty sure this has been done recently, but the only threads I can find on 'Search' are from 2008, so not particularly helpful...

Planning a trip with the family to Paris in August and wondering what happens on the Metro. I've heard about the Navigo app thing, but how does that work with a family - we all have to have the app?

I assume you can still go and buy the tickets from the machines, would that be easier for us? Is there a family ticket thing? There's two adults and a 15 year old going.

Any help would be great (plus any tips on good things to do in Paris over 5 days). Thanks ever so.

[TheGander]

I’m not sure about navigo, but when I arrive at the Gare du Nord I head to the little tourist office booth in the station and buy a carnet if 10 tickets, saves me queuing at the metro station or wrangling the less than explicit ticket machines.

[PuppyMonkey]

That sounds easy enough, thank you @TheGander

[XVGN]

Yep, books of tickets sounds easiest. As with all these types of questions, just pop on to Youtube and you'll find some really helpful videos of people doing what you want to do.

[Cuckoo48]

Can you get cut-price carnets for children and if so, how?

[Janek]

I have always bought a carnet of 10 tickets, but I read on here they were being phased out and a quick Google revealed this to be the case. I'd love to know what people do now, because a physical carnet can be split (ie four people can share it and make two full journeys before being to buy more), but the same on an 'oyster card' (Navigo?) potentially cannot.

Btw your 15 year old has been an adult since she was 10 as far as the metro is concerned!

[PuppyMonkey]

I have tried Google and YouTube but again, the results come up from a few years ago and as PP says, some sites say things have changed recently. There’s Visite Paris saying buy from them and then Navigo saying get the app. I was really hoping someone on here has been recently and could tell me what they did! Thanks all!

[Janek]

Try posting in living overseas. That was what I was intending to do when my current stock of carnet tickets run out (they are still valid even though they are no longer on sale. I hope.).

[PuppyMonkey]

Ooh that’s a good idea @Janek I didn’t even know that section existed. My question might be on there already with any luck!

[j712adrian]

I think the rhetoric on Navigo is running ahead of reality - I got a carnet of 12 when I went in late Feb.

[stringbean]

You can't buy the carnets of tickets any longer. We were in Paris last month and the best thing to do as a tourist is to buy a Navigo Easy pass with a carnet of 10 tickets pre-loaded onto it: you have to buy one from a window, not a machine (although can then top them up using the machines).

It covers most of Paris (but not as far as Versailles or Disneyland - you need to buy a separate ticket if you're going that far) and just tap on/off for each journey. Cost about 14 or 15 Euros each with the 10 preloaded tickets, don't require a photo and are interchangeable between different people (just not on the same journey). Have a look here: www.iledefrance-mobilites.fr/en/tickets-fares/media/navigo-easy-travel-card

[stringbean]

If you download the RATP app, you can scan your card to see how many journeys you have left, so you know when to top it up.

[Janek]

Thanks Stringbean. We are only ever passing through Paris on our way elsewhere so one carnet gets us there and back, with two spare tickets for next time. You have confirmed what I suspected - that we'll need a carnet of ten each (and they cannot be shared on the same journey). It's a slightly annoying development. Interesting that one of the reasons they say they've done it is because people lose tickets and most carnets don't get fully used - I don't even live in France and I always use up my carnets!!!

[PuppyMonkey]

@stringbean

You can't buy the carnets of tickets any longer. We were in Paris last month and the best thing to do as a tourist is to buy a Navigo Easy pass with a carnet of 10 tickets pre-loaded onto it: you have to buy one from a window, not a machine (although can then top them up using the machines).

It covers most of Paris (but not as far as Versailles or Disneyland - you need to buy a separate ticket if you're going that far) and just tap on/off for each journey. Cost about 14 or 15 Euros each with the 10 preloaded tickets, don't require a photo and are interchangeable between different people (just not on the same journey). Have a look here: www.iledefrance-mobilites.fr/en/tickets-fares/media/navigo-easy-travel-card

is it just me, I’m struggling to understand. What do you mean buy from a window? Thanks for replying!

[PuppyMonkey]

Ille de France?

[Janek]

From a ticket office, rather than a machine. The French call it a guichet. And Ile de France is central Paris. Your 'carnet' is valid here!

[PuppyMonkey]

You’re a star @Janek - I’m sorry for being so thick! Just need to find out what a carnet means now @

[Janek]

I would call it a book of tickets, but I may actually be from the 50s...

[stringbean]

A carnet is a book of tickets - in this case, 10 journeys preloaded into the card. You need to buy the cards from a ticket office in a metro station. You can just buy the cards for a couple of euros and then load fewer journeys onto them at one of the machines, if you don't need 10 tickets.

[MissAmbrosia]

Ooh handy. I'm going to Paris for work on Monday and need to get to hotel/head office at La Defense. I get the impression we will be heading back into the city in the evenings too. Just downloading Navigo. Can report back!

[PuppyMonkey]

Yay, it’s all making more sense now - yes I await your report @MissAmbrosia have a great trip!

[Oriunda]

I live in Paris. You can still buy carnets of 10 tickets at larger tourist stations but they’re being phased out as the authorities encourage everyone to use the Navigo card. The paper tickets are also more expensive; the cheapest way to get the carnet of 10 is to buy the Navigo Easy card, which costs €2, which you get from the counter on the ticket desk. You can buy one pre-loaded with your carnet of 10 and you can then choose to either add more tickets via the machines or via the RATP app on your phone.

If you think you’ll be doing a lot of trips in a day than it is worth looking at the various passes; go to the RATP site (they have in English) and it’ll tell you what the various weekend passes are. For young people there’s the Forfait Weekend Jeunes which is I think worth having if you’re going to do several trips a day.

Bear in mind that your ticket is valid for an hour and includes transfer from the faster RER lines to the metro, so don’t throw away any paper tickets until you’ve completed your journey.

[Oriunda]

Five days in Paris is enough to see a fair bit. Assuming you’ve never visited before, I’d suggest you do the Louvre, a batobus, the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre/Sacre Coeur. Do the batobus after the Eiffel Tower because they’re in the same place and you’ll want to sit down after the Tower (book ET in advance and also look at booking the Louvre). Depending on when you’re going, some museums are free the first Saturday of the month, for example the Orsay. I also really like the Catacombs; they’re very interesting and you can buy same day tickets which which are half price for adults.

If you’ve watched Emily in Paris then the Atelier de Lumieres is lovely (it’s where they have the artwork displayed on the walls all lit up with the classical music etc) and it really is quite special. Close by you could also visit Père Lachaise cemetery where a lot of famous people are buried including Jimi Hendrix and Oscar Wilde.

I would also allocate a day to go to Versailles; it’s absolutely stunning but a lot to see in one day (both the inside of the palace and the gardens) so I would choose what’s more important to you.

Place de Vosges near the Marais is absolutely worth visiting; it’s a beautiful square and of course then go for a wander into the Marais. Close by in the same area you have the Pompidou centre which is always interesting. Museums I really like include the Rodin Museum, full of his beautiful sculptures.

Go to a jazz club! Chez Papa in Saint Germain dès Pres serves decent food whilst listening to a chanteuse and pianist and is a wonderful experience.

[Meredusoleil]

@Oriunda

Five days in Paris is enough to see a fair bit. Assuming you’ve never visited before, I’d suggest you do the Louvre, a batobus, the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre/Sacre Coeur. Do the batobus after the Eiffel Tower because they’re in the same place and you’ll want to sit down after the Tower (book ET in advance and also look at booking the Louvre). Depending on when you’re going, some museums are free the first Saturday of the month, for example the Orsay. I also really like the Catacombs; they’re very interesting and you can buy same day tickets which which are half price for adults.

If you’ve watched Emily in Paris then the Atelier de Lumieres is lovely (it’s where they have the artwork displayed on the walls all lit up with the classical music etc) and it really is quite special. Close by you could also visit Père Lachaise cemetery where a lot of famous people are buried including Jimi Hendrix and Oscar Wilde.

I would also allocate a day to go to Versailles; it’s absolutely stunning but a lot to see in one day (both the inside of the palace and the gardens) so I would choose what’s more important to you.

Place de Vosges near the Marais is absolutely worth visiting; it’s a beautiful square and of course then go for a wander into the Marais. Close by in the same area you have the Pompidou centre which is always interesting. Museums I really like include the Rodin Museum, full of his beautiful sculptures.

Go to a jazz club! Chez Papa in Saint Germain dès Pres serves decent food whilst listening to a chanteuse and pianist and is a wonderful experience.

I think you mean Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde not Jimi Hendrix?

[Oriunda]

Sorry yes …, auto correct!

[motogirl]

Bought a carnet but that was pre covid